I,too, have been going to disney for decades and had never experienced this resturant and now I have been there twice in the past year.
At the podeum I experienced the very straight laced host. It's most definately a stereo-type on my part, but it fit right into my experience. Once inside our server was absolutely attentive. She was very nice and answered any of my questions.
The overall experience is fantastic! The resturant is a big on the loud side because the tables are very close, but the meals are fabulous. On my 1st experience I had the lobster bisque, the steak with homemade au gratin potatos for dinner and then the creme brulee for dessert. I could not find anything to complain about at all. The food was prepared just to my liking.
On my 2nd visit I spent lunch here. The menu at lunch is a bit abbreviated. On this trip I had the homemade mac and cheese which was to die for. Again I had the lobster bisque and it was just as good as I remembered.
Epcot has so many good resturaunts and this one has been added to my must see list.